


The One That Stayed

by SupercityCarnival



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, SuperCat Slam, supercat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-02 13:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8668777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupercityCarnival/pseuds/SupercityCarnival
Summary: This little piece is snippets from three of Cat's romantic relationships.





	

30 Years Ago – Metropolis

The crowd cheered as the Metropolis University women’s volleyball team scored again. The team was undefeated going into the tournament today and they were looking to keep that record. 

Catherine Grant was cheering along with everyone else in the student section of the indoor volleyball facility. She smiled brightly and her eyes were glued to the setter. The tall, blond player was in the front of the team, at the net, calling out to the other players while expertly controlling the ball. 

After a long volley, Metropolis U scored again. Cheering erupted once more and Catherine clapped, high fiving several of her friends. The team set up for game point and she couldn’t help herself. Catherine cried out, “Go, Jaime!”

The setter didn’t look, but Catherine saw the smile that crossed her face when she heard the call. The server slammed the ball over the net. Jaime judged the action and relayed instructions to her team. She clasped her hands together and bumped the ball into the air to the outside hitter. It was perfectly positioned for the hitter to jump up, spiking the ball over the net and into the floor. 

The crowd went wild and the team threw their hands up, rushing together into a massive group hug in the center of the court and jumping up and down. Catherine laughed as she saw the team lift Jaime onto their shoulders, bouncing their team captain around happily. 

The teams exchanged post game congratulations and hand shakes and began gathering their things to head to their respective locker rooms. Jaime pulled her equipment bag onto her shoulder and looked up to the spot where she knew Catherine had been cheering. Spotting each other, they waved. Jaime gestured toward the locker room and Catherine nodded.

A half an hour later, Catherine was waiting outside the locker room when Jaime emerged. The shorter girl reached up and threw her arms around the shoulders of the taller one. Jaime laughed into Catherine’s soft, blond hair.

“You were awesome,” Catherine said in her ear. 

Jaime gave her small body a squeeze and released her hold around her girlfriend’s waist. “Thanks, I could hear you cheering.”

“Good. I love watching you play.”

They started making their way out of the indoor athletic stadium and across campus to their dorm. Catherine had her hands wrapped around Jaime’s arm while her very own volleyball star told her all about the inner workings of the game she and her team and just won. 

Jaime and Catherine had been together for a year and a half, though, neither one of them was out. They had a handful of friends that knew about their relationship and were supportive, but most people thought they were simply the best of friends. 

That’s how it had started out the previous fall. The two shared a dorm suite, two small rooms that were joined by a bathroom in the middle. They met the day that Catherine moved in. She had knocked on the bathroom door on Jaime’s side to introduce herself. They were instant friends. 

As their months in college passed by during the year that was both their junior year, the two young women became closer and closer. Then one night, out of the blue, as they were walking through the quad, Jaime had tugged on Catherine’s hand. When Catherine stopped to look at her, Jaime slowly pulled her close. With a hand on the shorter girl’s cheek, she leaned in and brought their lips together. 

Catherine had never felt anything like it. The sensation in her belly rushed to the other parts of her body and she flushed all over. She kissed Jaime back and when they pulled apart, Catherine could see the fear on her companion’s face. She reached up to graze her fingers across Jaime’s soft cheek and soothed the girl’s insecurity with a smile and another kiss. 

Things escalated quickly after that kiss. They began sleeping in the same bed together and letting their hands wander. Catherine had only been with boys before and they never seemed appealing to her. There had been girls in and out of her life that had fascinated her, but she could never put her finger on why. 

But when Jaime kissed her while they were alone in the dark, she quickly began to understand why. 

“I love being with you like this,” Catherine told her one night as they laid in bed talking and touching. 

“Me, too,” Jaime replied as she placed gentle kisses on Catherine’s neck. She shifted to move on top of the slight woman, coming back to kiss her fully on the mouth, increasing the pressure and Catherine quietly moaned against her lips. 

Jaime was the more bold of the two of them. She was the one who pushed the envelope and tonight she intended to push it as far as she could. Her hands moved under Catherine’s t-shirt and she slowly worked it up and over her shoulders and head. Catherine didn’t resist. 

Fully exposed without her shirt, Catherine felt Jaime begin to tremble on top of her. She lifted her hands to Jaime’s anxious face and guided brown orbs to her green ones. “What is it?”

Jaime’s eyes conveyed a well of emotions. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. Catherine waited patiently. Jaime swallowed and quietly said, “You are so beautiful.” 

Catherine gave her a closed lip smile. “So are you.”

Jaime wasn’t finished. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Catherine’s lips parted with surprise at the confession. She stared at Jaime. The woman on top of her truly was gorgeous. Her big, dark eyes and light hair. Her high cheek bones and cream colored skin that was so soft. Her strong jaw and her chin that was now quivering. 

“Me, too,” Catherine said simply. 

Jaime breathed out in relief and quickly leaned down to kiss her again. Then she kissed her again. Her finger tips ghosted over Catherine’s small but perfect breasts and when she felt her nipples become erect, Jaime couldn’t fight the urge to move down and take each one into her mouth. 

This was the farthest they’d ever gone and Catherine certainly wasn’t stopping her. It felt amazing. Her back involuntarily arched into Jaime’s mouth and she tangled her fingers into the long blond hair, scratching her scalp. The sensation spurred Jaime and she reached down to make short work of taking Catherine’s panties off. Then she quickly took her own clothes off and climbed back on top of Catherine. 

Jaime cautiously asked her, “Do you want me to stop?”

Catherine gave a fast and whispered, “No.” 

So Jaime didn’t stop. Her hands and her mouth were everywhere and Catherine soaked in every second and every tingle. They both began sweating with anticipation and nerves, wanting so much to be able to please the other.

Neither one of them had any idea what they were doing, but they both experienced their first orgasm that night. It was the most brilliant thing they’d ever felt and when Catherine touched Jaime just right and the girl came apart at the seams in her arms, Catherine wanted to spend every minute of every day for the rest of her life with Jaime, doing this. 

After that night, they were inseparable. When they had to leave school for a break, the time away was agonizing. They talked every day, both feeling that the other was the only person in the world that understood them and being apart made them feel so alone. When they came back together, they always picked up right where they left off.

They both worked out their schedules to stay at school over the summer and they went through all the right channels to make sure they stayed in the same dorm rooms. 

Now here they were. It was the spring of their senior year. There were only a few weeks left before graduation. Catherine had landed a job as Perry White’s assistant at the Daily Planet and she started the Monday after graduation. Jaime had insisted that being someone’s assistant was below her, but Catherine counter insisted that it was the best starting point she could hope for. 

Tonight, they were tucked away in Catherine’s room propped on opposite sides of her bed. Jaime was reading over a paper that Catherine had to turn in the next day and Catherine was reading from the book for her visual journalism class when she heard from the other side of the bed, “You’re going to be an amazing writer.”

Catherine smiled at her. “Thank you.” She tilted her head, thinking of the volleyball coaching job that Jaime had secured right here at Metropolis University. “You’re going to be an amazing coach.” 

Jaime’s expression suddenly changed and she became downcast. Catherine saw the shift and sat up straighter. “What? Did something happen?”

Jaime closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked back to Catherine and said, “I need to talk to you about something.”

An anxiousness formed in Catherine’s stomach and she put her book down. “Okay.”

Jaime shifted to sit closer to her, blinking her eyes a few times, trying to figure out what to say. “I got a call yesterday from the AVP. They asked me to play pro ball in California.” Catherine’s brow knit together in trepidation. After a second, Jaime quietly said, “And I told them yes.” 

Tears instantly sprang to Catherine’s eyes and she turned away, trying to wipe them before they spilled over. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she tried to speak but the lump in her throat wouldn’t let her. Catherine wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her forehead on her knees. Jaime moved to sit next her, but the now crying girl scooted away from her. 

After a few moments, Catherine lifted her head. Her voice was thick with emotion. “Why, why would you do that? We, we,” she stuttered and stopped, trying to pull herself together. “We had plans,” she sniffled through sobs that escaped when she started talking. 

“I’m so sorry, baby.” Jaime looked so torn. “It’s a chance I can’t pass up.” Catherine wiped her cheeks with her fingers and buried her face in her knees again. She felt Jaime’s muscular arms, strong from hours a day of practice, pull her close. “Come with me.”

Catherine cried in her arms and Jaime held her tight, letting her own tears flow freely. When the tears from both of them finally began to subside, Jaime said again, “Come with me.” 

Catherine shook her head. “I can’t.” She was so disappointed. “I have a chance I can’t pass up either, at the Planet.”

The realization settled between them. They had a few precious weeks left together. 

They spent every possible moment of those weeks side by side. They talked for hours a day, they laughed and they cried. The sex was overwhelming in those last weeks. 

Jaime didn’t walk the stage at graduation. She was already gone, having left right after final exams were over. Catherine felt empty and instantly lonely when she watched her first love drive away. 

As planned, Catherine started at the Planet the Monday after graduation. She was attempting to arrange the stack of files that Perry White had immediately dumped on her desk when a young man came up to her.

“Hi there,” he said, getting her attention.

“Oh, um, hi,” she said shyly. She hadn’t really met anyone at the office yet.

He held his hand out. “I’m Joe. You must be Mr. White’s new assistant.”

She gave a small smile and shook his hand. “Yes, I’m Cath-,” but she stopped herself, making a split second decision. She needed a fresh start. “Uh, Cat. Cat Grant.”

 

*************************************  
15 Years Ago – National City

Cat was ready for the day before the sun was up. She spritzed a couple sprays of her perfume on and let it settle while she finished her make up, hoping the scent would illicit a specific reaction. 

The bulk of her morning routine was taken up with makeup. It was a habit she’d picked up in her days at the Daily Planet. When she started there, journalism was a man’s world and a pretty face was often a woman’s only in. A lot had changed, but Cat still felt the need to look made up. 

She walked into the bedroom when she was done and sat at the edge of the bed, barely pressing into the body still wrapped in sheets. With a tiny smile on her lips, Cat tenderly brushed raven locks away from a perfect cheek bone. 

The beautiful woman in the bed mumbled, “Why do you insist on going to work this early?”

Cat leaned down and pressed her lips to a soft temple and whispered, “So I can get ahead.”

Her lover took in a deep breath. “God, I love that perfume.” Instantly awake, the woman grabbed Cat’s arm and pulled her onto the bed. Cat laughed as slender arms came around her and full lips kissed her neck. This was exactly the reaction she was going for.

Cat moved to capture the woman’s lips in an open mouthed kiss that they both melted into. Soon, Cat felt those lips moving down to her neck again and she let out a quiet, “Mmm. That feels great, Rach, but I have to get going.” She pulled away and sat up, moving off the bed. 

“I’ll see you soon,” Rachel said. 

Cat headed out the door and drove to WGBS where she was the station manager. She loved her job, and had a vision to expand the station into what would be the greatest media outlet in the world. One day, at least. In fact, she had gotten the name copyrighted only the week before. 

CatCo Worldwide Media. 

Cat had beamed from ear to ear when she got the paper work in the mail for the copyright. She had excelled in her field and, after a decade, left the Planet and came all the way across the country to make it on her own. 

And make it, she did. Cat became an on-air reporter for WGBS soon after she arrived in California. She went far above and beyond her coworkers and most other reporters in the city. Her hard work paid off with the privilege of breaking many stories over the years. 

On top of being the station manager, Cat had started her own talk show, The Cat Grant Show. It had good ratings and she had quickly built a large following in the city. 

Two years ago, with the help of investors, Cat was able to buy the station, freeing her to make all the decisions. She hired some new talent, including Rachel, who turned out to be her best on-air reporter. Soon after that, they were practically living together. They had just recently celebrated their one year anniversary, where Cat had given Rachel a key to her place. 

When she walked into her office at the station, Cat went straight to work. The first thing she did was check her email. Her eyes caught the subject of one in particular. It read, National City Tribune for sale. Her eyes widened as she clicked to open it. 

She speed read the email and then snatched her office phone from its cradle, dialing the number listed on the email. It had only been sent to a handful of people in the industry. Hopefully, this would be another morning when Cat’s habit of rising before the sun would pay off. 

The line picked up and she made an effort not to sound too excited when she said, “This is Cat Grant. I’d like to make an offer on the Tribune.”

Only a couple of weeks later, Cat came through her front door late at night, anxious to share her news with Rachel. She had signed ownership papers for the Tribune that afternoon. It was her first major acquisition and it was going to change everything for her and for CatCo. 

As soon as she walked in, Cat stopped short. The entire house was cast in a soft glow. Her eyes scanned the place. There were candles everywhere. She set her purse and briefcase down on the small table by the door. 

Rachel came out of the kitchen and Cat felt her mouth go dry. Her girlfriend was dressed in nothing but a black teddy and was holding two glasses of wine. 

Cat breathed out, “You look amazing.” 

Rachel slowly made her way up to Cat, handing her a glass. The light from the candles made Rachel’s olive skin look almost ethereal. In the dimness Cat couldn’t tell where her thick jet black hair ended and the fabric of the lingerie began. She was breathtaking. 

The dark woman smiled at her. “Thank you.” She leaned in to kiss Cat on the lips, slowly, and Cat unconsciously moved closer. They separated just enough for Rachel to whisper, “Congratulations.”

Cat smiled brightly and reached her free hand around the slightly taller woman’s shoulders. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Rachel shrugged. “You’re not the only one with contacts.” She kissed Cat again. “I’m proud of you, Cat.” 

Cat pulled back and took the other woman’s glass, setting them both down. Then she reached both arms around Rachel’s neck. “Are you really?”

Rachel nodded her confirmation. “I am so proud of you.” 

Cat loved hearing it. Praise from Rachel was the best compliment. The longer she looked at her, the heavier Cat's breathing became. She pulled Rachel into her, kissing her hard. Rachel responded immediately, wrapping her arms around Cat’s waist and kissing her back with urgency. 

Cat’s hands ran over the thin, soft fabric and the two began to touch each other with frantic need. Soon, they were making their way to the bedroom, bumping into furniture along the way. 

This is how sex was between them, hard and heavy. Cat loved sex with Rachel. It was passionate and it went on forever. They were rough with each other and then they were gentle with each other. They were loud and they were quiet, and they were always exhausted when they were done. 

Tonight, they laid in the bed, wrapped up in each other after, enjoying the warmth. Cat had her head on Rachel’s chest and she reveled in the tingles that her girlfriend’s finger tips left on her bare back as Rachel grazed them along her skin. 

“I love you,” Cat said quietly.

The answer came easily and quickly. “I love you, too.”

Cat lifted her head and pressed kisses to her lover’s chest and collar bone and moved to kiss her lips gently. When she opened her eyes, Rachel was looking back at her with the most caring smile and Cat said, “I wanna give you the world.” 

The woman underneath her lifted her hands to cup Cat’s face and whispered, “I just want you.” 

Cat’s eyes glistened at the words. She’d never experienced love from anyone the way she did from Rachel. Rachel held nothing back from her and wanted her more than anything. It was a sentiment that Cat tried so hard to return. She was so often consumed with work that it left Rachel on her own and Cat would feel awful about it when she had to cancel a date, or a trip together, or even the nights when she came home so late and Cat would find dinner in the fridge with a sweet note attached to it. Rachel gave her everything and she gave Rachel what she had left over, but the exceptional woman never complained. 

Cat spent the next several weeks learning the ins and outs of the Tribune. She hired and she fired and made necessary changes to excel the newspaper into the next generation. Her time was split between WGBS and the Trib. It was a long and drawn out endeavor but she was thrilled over it.

Tonight, Cat came home late, even later than usual. Another dinner with Rachel had been cancelled earlier in the evening. Actually, it was a raincheck from a date Cat had cancelled a few days before. 

Trying to be quiet when she came through the door, Cat took her time closing it behind her, not wanting to wake her girlfriend. But when she turned to come farther into the house, she saw the caution wasn’t needed. 

Rachel was standing in the living room, her packed luggage sitting on the floor next to the sofa. They looked at each other across the space.

Cat quietly asked, “Where are you going?”

There was a long pause before Rachel answered. “I’m leaving.” 

Cat stood there, hoping that she was somehow misunderstanding what was happening, hoping that she had forgotten a trip in the woman’s schedule. “When are you coming back?”

“I’m not coming back, Cat.” Tears gathered in Rachel’s eyes. 

Cat opened her mouth to speak, slowly shaking her head and taking a few steps closer. “I know I’ve been busy lately, Rachel, but you don’t have to do this.” 

“Lately?” The question was an accusation. Silence settled between them for a moment. Rachel continued, “Cat, I love you, but I’m tired of playing second fiddle. You’ve always been more committed to your work than to me.”

Cat shook her head again and covered the rest of the distance between them, taking Rachel’s hand. “No, that’s not true. I love you. Give me a chance to do better.” 

Rachel closed her eyes and the tears she had been struggling to hold in spilled out and she dropped her head. Cat lifted her hands to touch flawless skin and cup her cheeks, but Rachel said, “I can’t. I can’t do this anymore.” She looked back at Cat. “Constantly waiting for you, constantly being put on the back burner. Everything about us is about you.” Rachel reached up to carefully pull Cat’s hands away from her face and whispered, “I can’t.” 

“Rach, please.” Cat didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t have a defense. Rachel was right. Cat always put her second. “Where will you go? We still work together. We can work this out.” She tried to say anything she could think of to make Rachel stop moving with her luggage toward the door. 

Rachel stopped and turned back. “I got another job, Cat.” The shock was evident on Cat’s face. “At KNBC. Broadcast director. It’s a big step up for me.” 

Cat closed her eyes, shaking her head again. “KNBC? They’re our biggest-,” Cat stopped herself abruptly, realizing she was about to say that they are their biggest competitor. Even now, while Rachel was walking out the door, Cat was thinking about work and ratings and competition. 

Rachel knew what she had been about to say. “I know. And I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked and she had to take a breath. “I know this hurts you and I’m not trying to hurt you.” 

They watched each other as so much emotion played over each face. Then Cat quietly said, “I wanted to give you the world.”

Rachel barely shrugged one shoulder and replied, just as a quiet, “I only wanted you.” She opened the door and, with a last look at Cat, she said, “I’ll come get the rest of my things tomorrow morning while you’re at work.” With that, she was gone.

Cat stared at the door with her mouth open, half waiting for Rachel to rush back through the door, and half knowing that she would never see Rachel come through that door again. 

She felt numb as she stood in the living room. Cat walked into the bedroom and looked around. The bed was made and everything was neat. The bathroom was the same. Every trace of Rachel was gone. Cat sat on the bed and the sad feeling gave way to a torrent of anguish. Her face dropped to her hands and she sobbed loudly. Laying down on the bed, she caught the scent of Rachel’s shampoo on the pillow and the sobs only wracked her body even more. 

 

************************************  
Present Day – National City

The alarm went off for the third time. Cat sat up and reached over to turn it off. When the incessant noise was gone, she snuggled back into the bed. A strong arm pulled her back into a warm body and a smile barely tugged at the corner of Cat’s mouth. Soft lips kissed the skin of her shoulder. 

“You need to get ready,” Kara told her with her lips still against Cat’s skin. “Your meeting with the board is in a couple hours.” 

Cat rolled over so they were front to front and nuzzled into Kara. “Five more minutes,” she said. 

Cat was never quick to get out of bed these days, not since Kara came along. She savored every second they were together. Closing her eyes again, Cat relaxed as Kara racked her fingers through her shorter hair. 

After a short while, Kara whispered in her ear, “Time to get up.” 

Cat finally lifted her head and met Kara’s eyes. “I love you.”

Kara smiled. “I love you, too.” 

Cat sat up, but didn’t get out of bed. She looked down at Kara and slowly ran her finger tip from the young woman’s temple to her chin. They’d been together for almost a year. It was the best year of Cat’s life. She never knew she could love the way she loved Kara, or be loved the way Kara loved her. They loved each other fiercely and fully. 

Cat still couldn't believe how well they fit together. They were such opposites, two sides of one coin. When they had gotten together, Kara gave herself over to Cat so freely. The younger woman had dived in head first offering all of her emotion, her energy, and her devotion to Cat. It had surprised Cat and somehow encouraged her to do the same. The first time they made love, Cat had never wanted to please anyone more in her life. There was so much depth to their feelings. 

Cat looked over Kara’s face. She was so beautiful with her long hair disheveled and her glasses gone, nothing between piercing green eyes and pure blue ones. 

Kara’s voice broke the sweet quiet in the room. “What are you thinking?”

Cat didn’t hesitate to answer. It was always easy to be open with Kara. “That I’ve never been with anyone like you.” She leaned down and tenderly kissed Kara’s lips, lingering for a moment before sitting back up and continuing to move her fingers over Kara’s face and neck. 

“What do you mean?”

Cat thought for a few seconds. “It feels like you and I are walking on the same path together, heading in the same direction and I’ve never had that. I’ve always been going in some other direction. But you,” she moved to splay her fingers over Kara’s cheeks, letting her hands lightly settle there. “You always reach out and pull me back onto the path when I start to wander. Everyone else just let me go.” 

Kara reached up to put a hand around the back of Cat’s neck. She pulled her back down onto the bed and kissed her with open lips. They wrapped their arms tightly around one another, tangling their legs together. They kissed deeply and their tongues pressed between their lips. 

Kara pulled back, only slightly and said, “They were crazy to let you go.” Then she kissed her again and Cat began to shift underneath her, wanting to be as close as possible. “I’m never letting you go. Never.” 

Cat believed her. No one had ever said that to her before, but Kara said it often, and every time she did, Cat knew she meant it. Kara was full of integrity and honesty and truth and Cat knew Kara meant it when she said she would never leave.

Their make out session was cut short when Kara’s alarm went off. Now they were in trouble and time was running short. They rushed out of bed and began to get ready for the day. They showered together and moved quickly around the bathroom. It was always like this when Kara stayed over, a mad dash to get out the door after too much time spent lounging. 

It didn’t take Cat nearly as long to get ready as it used to. She didn’t care what people thought anymore. As long as she thought she looked good, Cat was satisfied.

By the time Cat banged on Carter’s door to make sure he was up, he was already ready to go. All three scrounged the kitchen for some kind of breakfast and flew out the door to the waiting town car. Cat, Kara, and Carter piled into the backseat, Cat complaining as usual about needing a bigger car to come pick them up. Kara and Carter ignored her, talking excitedly about one thing or another. Cat loved watching them together. 

That afternoon, they were having lunch on Cat’s balcony, laughing over something that had been said in the morning meeting in Cat’s office. Kara’s phone rang and she had to go. A familiar need to protect Kara instantly came over Cat. 

“Please, be safe,” she told her superhero. 

Kara kissed her firmly on the mouth. “Always.” Then she made her way discreetly out of the office. 

Several hours later, Cat received a call from Alex. The op Kara had been called to didn’t go as planned. The battle had left Kara’s powers nearly drained. Cat’s heart beat in her throat as she listened to Alex talk. “But she’s okay?” Cat’s voice was fraught with worry. 

“She’s okay,” Alex reassured her over the phone. “But she needs to rest and you’re the only one that can make her do that.” It was true. Cat had an ability to sooth Kara that no one else did. 

“Bring her to my house.” With that, Cat was gathering her things to leave the office early. She even cancelled a late afternoon meeting with one of her department heads. 

Soon, Cat was in her kitchen, making something for Kara to eat. She and Alex practically had to force Kara into bed, but when Cat placed a hand on her face and simply said, “Please,” Kara had acquiesced. 

Cat was slicing tomatoes, unaware of the small smile she was wearing as she thought. Here she was, Cat Grant, making a sandwich for her weary lover. When Carter came along, he had changed everything, but it took Kara to make Cat a family woman. 

Cat had worked her entire adult life to make CatCo, ever since that first day at the Planet. Now, she would give it all up in an instant for one Kara Danvers. It must’ve been fate, though Cat didn’t believe in that kind of thing. She could never deny the timing. Kara walked into her office at a time in her life when she was looking for something surprising and the girl who swore there was nothing special about her ended up being the most surprising thing Cat had ever seen. 

She brought Kara’s meal up to the bedroom on a tray and the younger woman rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to do that. I can walk to the kitchen.”

Cat set the tray down next to Kara then perched herself on the edge of the bed. Cat knew she had to be in love the first time she let Kara eat in her bed. “Nonsense. You need to rest.” She picked up one of Kara’s hands and kissed the back of it. “Let me take care of you.” 

Kara simply looked at her, tilting her head, considering her. “I love this side of you,” she told Cat. 

Cat smiled at her. “This side of me is for you and Carter.” She paused for a moment and confessed, “I’ve never been like this with anyone I was dating before, you know.” 

Kara shifted to turn toward her. “What’s different about me?” 

Cat started fidgeting before she looked back to Kara. “Everything’s different about you,” she said, taking the tray of food and putting it on Kara’s lap. “Eat.” She hoped Kara would over look the fact that she had avoided answering the question. 

Kara picked up the sub sandwich Cat had made her. It was stuffed with all kinds of things, just the way Kara liked it. She took a bite and chewed for a few seconds. After she swallowed, Kara playfully asked again, “So what’s different about me?” She giggled when Cat narrowed her eyes.

One side of Cat's lips quirked up in that smile that made the contour of her mouth look so perfect. She bent down to slip her high heel shoes off and pulled back the comforter, crawling in and settling next to Kara. With her head on Kara’s shoulder and a hand wrapped around her bicep, she talked while Kara ate. 

“I make things difficult. I don’t mean to, it just kind of, happens.” She felt Kara slow down her chewing, surely surprised by a serious answer to a teasing question. “You don’t take my bullshit. You force me to be better.” Cat squeezed her arm affectionately and nuzzled a little closer. “You don’t let me work late all the time and you make me have fun. I meant it when I told you that you changed me.” 

“You don’t make things difficult,” Kara quietly responded. 

Cat looked up at her, smiling again. She kissed Kara’s shoulder and put her head back down on the same spot. “You love me so well, Kara.” Kara ate for a while and they sat in comfortable silence. When she was finished, Kara set the tray aside, putting her arms around Cat and pulling her close, tucking the small woman’s head under her chin.

Cat heard Kara’s strong heart beat under her ear and closed her eyes, telling Kara, “Everything between us is so deep and honest. I’ve never had that before.” She didn't know what else to say so she let the silence stretch out, hoping she had answered Kara’s question.

As the moments passed, Cat felt Kara getting heavy against her. She pulled away and saw the exhaustion on Kara’s face. “I hate it when you fight as hard as you did today.” She pulled the blankets back a little farther, giving Kara room to lay down.

“Alex was in the line of fire,” Kara answered, following Cat’s silent instruction and stretching herself out under the blankets.

Cat didn’t argue. She knew Kara would fight to the death for the people she loved. The older woman lovingly pulled the blankets up to Kara’s shoulders and made sure she was snug and comfortable. Then she kissed her cheek and said, “I’ll be right back.” After Cat cleaned up and changed clothes, she crawled back into the bed. 

Cat settled into her girlfriend. Even with Kara’s powers drained for now, Cat never felt more secure. The superhero’s sure arms around her always made her feel safe. As she drifted into sleep, Cat knew this woman would never leave and she would be wrapped in these arms for the rest of her life. Finally, she had found the one, the one that would stay.

**Author's Note:**

> I really liked the idea that Cat had been in love before Kara, even deeply in love. I tried to thread several of the same ideas and even lines into each relationship - "Cat had never felt anything like it," "She had never been loved like this," etc, but it became deeper with each relationship until it reaches its full depth with Kara. 
> 
> I also feel like it's realistic that no matter how much Cat may have loved someone, there was a long period of time where CatCo came first. Kara came along at just the right time when Cat was finally able to really give herself fully to someone.
> 
> Idk, I just love these two, but thanks for reading, as always :-)


End file.
